I usually only give Squish those gigundo beef shanks that are stuffed with jerky, because they're pretty indestructible. She just gnaws on them and no pieces ever break off, and she licks out all the jerky she can reach.

Someone gave her a different kind of bone, and I thought she had her beef shank.

Apparently not.

I saw that she was chewing on something, but didn't see it, so I obviously knew it was much smaller than the shank, and took it away from her. It's a piece of bone that looks like it has jerky in it, only she's obviously able to crunch this up.

This was yesterday.

A few times today, she's gotten up, hacked, and spit (vomited) some mucousy stuff with bone shards in it.

I'm freaking out.

She's behaving normally, drinking just fine, ate last night just fine, gums are normal color, mm are moist, so other than the hacking up the shards, she's not presenting anything abnormally.

Is this normal? Is she just gonna keep hacking up indigestible pieces? Will she pass them?

I'm worried because no one needs a massage therapist right now and I've been out of work for months and I am so broke it HURTS. Like, negative dollars.

You can give her some PLAIN mashed potatoes or some plain white bread -- that will "cushion" the shards in her system by binding to them like glue and she should be able to pass them easier.

If you see any signs of discomfort from her (roaching/arching her back, trying to either poop or vomit but she can't produce anything, whining, running a temp, looking at her sides or butt a lot, etc) get her to the vet immediately. She could either be blocked or have another intestinal issue going on.

Never make someone a priority in your life when that someone treats you like an option.

Marinepits wrote:You can give her some PLAIN mashed potatoes or some plain white bread -- that will "cushion" the shards in her system by binding to them like glue and she should be able to pass them easier.

If you see any signs of discomfort from her (roaching/arching her back, trying to either poop or vomit but she can't produce anything, whining, running a temp, looking at her sides or butt a lot, etc) get her to the vet immediately. She could either be blocked or have another intestinal issue going on.

Except that cotton is not digestible and if it wraps up into a ball in her digestive system, she'll have an even more difficult time passing the shards AND the cotton balls, if she can at all. The potato and the bread is digestible and will break down in the unlikely event it gets stuck.

Ask any vet tech how many times they've seen surgery for impacted towels, socks, and other articles of cotton clothing.

Never make someone a priority in your life when that someone treats you like an option.

Its ocurred to me that she could have an esophageal foreign body, too, especially if she's been coughing them up...Actually, feeding her as much as she wants would be better(of kibble type food anyway), think of Jen's reference to wrapping the sharp bits with soft stuff

I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.
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"You didn't know of the magical powers of the break stick? It's up there with genies and Harry Potter as far as magic levels go." SisMorphine 01/07/07